Quarterback Carson Wentz's 2019 Output With The Philadelphia Eagles - Odds and Predictions

Thursday night we may (or may not) see a healthy Carson Wentz and his Philadelphia Eagles take on former-backup-now-starter Nick Foles and his Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 of the 2019 NFL Pre-season, a matchup that may (or probably may not) prove which of the two quarterbacks is more likely to do better (or last longer) this season.

Talent aside, durability is what matters in a brutal sport like professional football, where front offices often cast aside the injury-prone, and this upcoming season will become a proving ground for Wentz, who, over the last two years has had to sit out eight regular season games and five in the postseasons due to various injuries.

Here we take a look at the odds and predictions of how well Wentz will do in the upcoming NFL season, and briefly analyze his chances of beating the overs and unders odds makers have now given him.

Quick Bio: who is Carson Wentz?

Carson James Wentz is the twenty-six year old NFL quarterback who was born in 1992 in Raleigh, North Carolina (though his family moved to North Dakota when he was three) and who has played for the Philadelphia Eagles for three seasons.

Wentz played football (and basketball and baseball) at Century High School and grew nine inches between his freshman and senior years and was All-Conference at quarterback and defensive back, posting 61 tackles and two interceptions.

Graduating as a member of the National Honors Society and as the valedictorian of his class in 2011, Wentz decided to play football at North Dakota State, redshirting his freshman season.

How did Wentz do at North Dakota State?

Wentz was the second string quarterback his first two seasons, only managing 34 completions for 353 total yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions during that time.

His junior year, Wentz started in all sixteen games and went on to complete 358 passes for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns while running for 642 yards and 6 touchdowns, and he led his team to their fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship.

During Wentz’s senior year, the injury bug (that’s been haunting him ever since) struck his wrist, breaking it, and he was forced to sit for eight weeks but still managed to return healthy by the national championship, in which he led his Bisons to victory, its fifth straight FCS title overall.

How smart is Wentz?

Not only did Wentz graduate his high school as a member of the National Honors Society and as the valedictorian (see above), he also graduated from college with a degree in health and physical education, finishing his higher level education with a 4.0 GPA.

Twice Wentz was recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as an Academic All-American, the first time for Division I football, the second time for Division I sports overall.

Wentz scored a 40 out of 50 on his Wonderlic test (an examination given to NFL players to quickly assess their IQ), with a score of 20 indicating an IQ of roughly 100.

When did Wentz get drafted into the NFL?

After finishing third among quarterbacks at the 2016 NFL Combine in the 40-yard dash, the broad jump and the three-cone drill, Wentz was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the draft (2^nd overall).

Wentz and the Eagles signed a four-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $26.67 million with a $17.6 million signing bonus.

After the team traded projected starter Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings in early September, Wentz the rookie was named starting quarterback of the Eagles for the 2016 season.

How effective has Wentz been in the NFL?

It’s a tough question to answer because if you look at just Wentz’s numbers per game, you could argue that he is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFC, if not the NFL.

In his three NFL seasons, Wentz has started in 40 games and has averaged 23 completions for 254 passing yards and 1.75 touchdowns with .7 interceptions per game for a record of 23-17-0, or a .739 win career win record.

Where Wentz loses some of his value is with durability, because his injuries have not only kept him out of key regular season games, but also out of every one of the team’s postseason matchups, including all the way to the Super Bowl in 2017.

What records has Wentz already broken?

Hard to believe in just three incomplete seasons, Wentz has chalked up enough broken NFL and Eagles’ franchise records to be too many to listed here.

Some of his league accolades include most pass completions by an NFL rookie (379) and most pass completions through the first 24 games of his career (540) and some of his Eagles records include most passing touchdowns in a season (33) and most touchdown passes in the first quarter (3).

Wentz is a Super Bowl Champion, though he could not play due to injury, and he has been selected to the Pro Bowl and won the Bert Bell Award during his sophomore NFL season in 2017.

What injuries has Wentz sustained in the NFL?

In December of 2017 in Week 14, Wentz tore his ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Rams (which the Eagles won anyways, 43-35) and he would be out for the season, with backup Nick Foles taking the team to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots by a score of 41-33.

Wentz came back healthy by Week 3 of the 2018 season, but because of a lingering back injury, he was benched towards the end of the year and once again Foles took over the reins and guided the team through the playoffs until the New Orleans Saints ended their run in the Divisional playoff game by a score of 20-14.

This season, Foles is starting for the Jaguars, and Wentz’s backups are now the less reliable Nate Sudfeld and journeyman Cody Kessler, so it would behoove Carson to stay healthy (like he’s ever planned otherwise?) because the Eagles’ need a strong (and smart) player like him under center to execute second-year offensive coordinator Mike Groh’s game plan.

How much did Wentz just get paid?

In June, the Eagles and Wentz agreed to a four-year deal worth $128 million with (wait for it) $107 million of that money guaranteed, which makes him a wealthy Eagle from now until the end of the 2024 season.

For his first three NFL seasons, Wentz was under his rookie contract and made a total of $22.6 million, with $17.6 million of that coming from his signing bonus.

Making an average of $32 million per season, Wentz is currently the fourth best-paid quarterback in the league, right behind Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger ($34 million) and Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson ($35 million).

Is it true that Wentz is best friends with a Trout?

Yes, it is true, actually, because Wentz and MLB two-time MVP and six-time All Star center fielder Mike Trout, who plays for the Los Angeles Angels, are in fact great friends.

Trout is an Eagles season ticket holder and an amateur weather enthusiast while Wentz loves baseball and is an avid hunter, and the two low-key celebrities enjoy a friendship that does not revolve around just their relative sports.

Both players have endured injuries and missed games as a result (Wentz see above, Trout a thumb injury last season) but continue to excel at their mutual sports and as a result are each other’s biggest supporters.

How are the Philadelphia Eagles predicted to do in 2019?

Right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are strong on both sides of the ball and with a healthy Wentz, they are predicted to win the NFC East (-118) over the Dallas Cowboys (+160) with the Washington Redskins (+1000) and the New York Giants (+1100) trailing far behind.

Only two teams have a better chance of winning the NFC Championship and representing the conference in the next Super Bowl, and those are the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints.

There are four teams with better odds of winning the next Super Bowl than the Eagles have, and that’s the same two NFC teams already mentioned and the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs, so Wentz obviously has plenty of worthy opponents (Drew Brees, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes and GOAT Tom Brady) to sift through before he earns his first (and takes home his second) Lombardi Trophy.

What are the current odds and predictions on Wentz’s possible 2019 production?

NFL quarterbacks are judged by many categories, but football gamblers find that total passing yards and total passing touchdowns are the most fun to bet on.

Below we list Wentz’s current odds for each of those categories and briefly analyze each based on his prior statistics.

Remember, only gamble what you can afford to lose, but if you do see some odds that look enticing then by all means crack open that betting kitty and get in the game.

Here are Wentz’s current odds for 2019:

Caveat: Wentz must play in game one for action to commence.

Carson Wentz’s 2019 Regular Season Passing Yards

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Analysis: Wentz has never beaten the over of this bet in the three seasons he has been playing in the NFL, and the closest he has come was in his rookie year when he played in all sixteen games and threw for 3,782 yards.

Take the under on this bet if you think the injury bug will continue to haunt the talented Wentz and shorten his season once again, something that has happened the last two years in a row.

Take the over on this bet if you believe that a) Wentz will finally stay healthy and b) adding new receivers Alshon Jeffery and Desean Jackson plus running back Jordan Howard to the roseter on top of arguably the best tight in the league, Zack Ertz, will finally put Wentz into the +4,050 passing yards club.

Carson Wentz’s 2019 Regular Season Passing Touchdowns

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Analysis: It’s strange, the one time Wentz would have won the over on this bet is in 2017, when he only played in 13 games due to injury and threw for 33 total touchdowns.

In his other two seasons, Wentz threw for just 16 and 21 six-pointers, so betting the under on this bet is probably the safest gamble here.

However, if you believe that a) Wentz will finally stay healthy and b) his new and old targets know how to score better than his prior ones did, then bet the over on this one and hope that the Eagles once again do what they always do lately and soar straight to the postseason.